CBS Report Offers Nuanced Look At Israeli Population

The Central Bureau of Statistics issued a report Wednesday ahead of the upcoming Jewish High Holidays. Among the key findings were that Israel's population is estimated to be 9.915 million people, approximately 7.632 million of them are Jews (77%), and about 2.067 million are Arabs (20.8%) with the remaining number including a variety of other ethnic and demographic minorities. This represents an annual growth rate of 1.6% which is slightly lower than last year.

The numbers also show that more people emigrated out of Israel in the last 12 months than made Aliyah (immigrated.) However, there is still a positive balance because nearly 30,000 Israelis who had been living abroad returned home in the last 12 months.

Other key findings include cancer being the leading cause of death in Israel, along with the fact that nearly 45% of the population smokes cigarettes on a regular basis. Inflation is a problem for most Israelis, as it is in many other developed countries. Almost 2 million children are in the Israeli school system and another 300,000 Israeli young adults are enrolled in institutions of higher learning.

The overwhelming majority of Israelis continue to use public transportation instead of driving around in private vehicles, government debt stands at approximately $350 million and almost 91% of Israelis expressed satisfaction with important aspects of their lives including their financial and housing situations.